BlackBerry Apps

BeBuzz is certainly a must-have app for our BlackBerryOS readers. The ability to control the color of the LED on our BlackBerrys should be a native function but since it isn't, BeBuzz helps customize it in a seamless way. BeBuzz is one of the most successful BlackBerry apps, and with their latest update it's pretty evident why.

Today's updated version of v5.0.24 does bring a few bug fixes from last week's v5.0.22, but real hidden gem of news in all of this is that BellShare apps are now available once again on Mobihand!

Retro gaming has always been a favorite thing for me to do on my spare time. There is nothing like breaking out the old Nintendo Entertainment System and playing a few classic levels of Super Mario Bros. Yes, you could always blow the dust off that old NES or SNES system, and spend a bit of time trying to get the game to work or you could use an emulator. Emulators have been around for quite a while, and exist on almost every platform. Perhaps one of the most popular NES emulators FCEUX, has been around since 2008, and is one of the most solid NES emulators out there.

It feels like I've had to a million battery pulls these past couple of days due to the amount of apps that are getting updated. I mean I'm not complaining, but I just can't wait till BlackBerry 10 devices (hopefully!) don't require battery pulls after the upgrade. Regardless, we now have another update to our BlackBerry app eco-system. The ever popular Foursquare app has a few bug fixes and enhancements in this new version so be sure to get it while it's hot.

And the cool features just keep on rolling in at CES 2012. The above video posted by Inside BlackBerry's official blog shows off how the new Bridge app that's coming in February will allow us to do a few awesome things on our PlayBooks. February is going to be an awesome month for BlackBerry users everywhere. If you haven't gotten a PlayBook yet, maybe this will convince you to do so.

A new version of BlackBerry Travel, v2.0.16.99, dropped in BlackBerry App World this morning. From what I've gathered, it's been quite a while since there has been an update, and this one is extra special for European BlackBerry users!

The update includes:

Exclusive BlackBerry Travel discounted rates available for major cities in Europe

Make limousine reservations easily upon arrival to destination

BlackBerry Travel allows the user to plan, book, manage or share travel activities. Find hotel deals and rental car locations, or schedule a ride to and from the airport. You will receive notifications of airport delays and cancellations, and can even search for a new flight. Finally, travelling made easy and all the information that could be needed is in one place.

Its been a busy day for the folks over at RIM. BBM 6.1 has been released from beta testing and is now available for download from App World. BBM 6.1 provides a wealth of new features that provide even more functionality and entertainment. BBM is way ahead of the competition when it comes to instant messaging. Personally I love the animated avatars!

Animated avatars – We’ve added a new dimension to the options on your BBM display picture – animated avatars! These avatars use controlled animation, which means that motion is activated when you scroll over the avatar. Three animated avatars are available as part of this beta as a sneak peek (including a “smile,” “laughter” and “in love”). We’re planning to add a larger selection of animated avatars after the beta trial is completed. You can access these avatars when changing your display picture within the Avatars folder. (Note: Animated avatars are only supported on BlackBerry smartphone OS 5.0 and higher.

12 new emoticons – A picture is worth a thousand words, or so the saying goes. With the addition of 12 fun emoticons in your BBM catalog, there are now more ways for you to express yourself and personalize messages to your friends. These new emoticons were created based on suggestions from customers participating in beta trials – look for more to come in future releases. And please make sure to leave us a comment and let us know what other emoticons you’d like to see. We’re listening!

Increased character count for personal messages – Whether it’s keeping your contacts posted on your whereabouts or sharing your mood for the day, you can now say more in your regular updates to your BBM friends. We’ve more than doubled the size of your personal message space to 160 characters, so that you can now share your trials and tribulations in much greater detail.

Colored chat bubbles – BBM users can now customize the color of chat bubbles for contacts. With 10 colors to choose from, you can pre-assign colors to your contacts by simply going into your BBM contacts’ profile and selecting a desired contact chat color. This feature is great for organizing the many BBM contacts you have and makes it easier to recognize types of conversations (I’m assigning colors to work, friends, and family. My boss is blue, my family is yellow, and colleagues and friends will get their own color-coding, too.)

Camera/Display Picture Integration – Now you’ll be able to snap a picture and display it right away! There are now fewer steps between taking that great picture with your BlackBerry smartphone and making it your BBM Display Picture. Now you can update your BBM avatar right from the BlackBerry smartphone camera app by selecting “Set as BBM Display Picture” from the menu options.

Learn Spanish is the ultimate app to learn a new language on the go! The new version of Learn Spanish provides 295 self-contained audio lessons to choose from. Designed for beginners as well as advanced speakers. Learn one of the world's most spoken languages today! Learn Spanish is compatible with all BlackBerry devices running OS 5.0 or higher. Including all BlackBerry OS 7 devices: Bold 9900, 9930; Torch 9810, 9850, 9860; Curve 9350, 9360, 9370.

RIM has just released the new native Music Store app via BlackBerry Beta Zone. With Music Store you can find and buy music directly from your device and keep that music integrated into your media library for easy playback. It's also BBM, Facebook and Twitter integrated for easy song and album sharing with your fans and friends. Nice to see RIM becoming more media friendly. Note: We have heard reports that Music Store is NOT OS 7.1 friendly.

A must have app for me is BeBuzz and it has just been updated to version 5.0.22. If you currently have version 5.x the update is FREE, but an upgrade from version 3 or 4 is $1.99. BeBuzz allows you to personlize the LED on your device in many ways. Different colors for notifications like text messages, BBM, E-mail, calender, tasks, coverage indicator, missed calls and so on. You can customize your contacts with different colors as well, and it will also let you choose specific colors for many third party apps.

The change-log for this update includes:

BBM chat history is not being deleted anymore

BeBuzz support now works whether BBM chat is set to device or memory card

Extended complimentary Text-to-Speech until January 31, 2012

Added support for browsing for ringtones (pre-installed ringtones cannot be used)

Automatically reverting to legacy BBM when there is no BBM contact and no toast/TTS for BBM

A couple of days ago, Mahmood from Devcellent Solutions shooted me an email about their newest app Email++. After using it for a couple of days I can already tell this is a must have app for BlackBerry users everywhere.
What is Email++ and what does it do

Email++ brings the convenience of a desktop email client to the powerful always-on BlackBerry email by augmenting the features of the existing BlackBerry email app. It is essentially a plugin for the BlackBerry email app that does not add mere menu items to the email app's menu but instead, it is a graphical toolbar that gets embedded right on the BlackBerry email App. Users of Email++ will have access to its features instantly while viewing or composing emails. Simply by scrolling up from any email message will reveal this toolbar.

The pictures say it all, Twitter for BlackBerry definitely came out on top in my search of Twitter for BlackBerry vs HootSuite. I don't mean to say that HootSuite is all bad or that T4BB is perfect, but for now, this is how the results will stand.

I've looked high & low for a FourSquare app for the BlackBerry PlayBook, but apparently I wasn't looking in the right places. While looking recently in "Recently Updated" apps on App World, I noticed FourPlay.
FourPlay For PlayBerry PlayBook is exactly what you'd expect from a FourSquare app on your tablet. This 3rd party Foursquare app brings all the features you'll find on your official FourSquare app found on your BlackBerry Smartphone. I was amazed at the fact that my location was more accurate within this app than it is when I use my Bold 9900.

With many tweaks/updates rumored to be coming to a future build planned to be released around the same time as PlayBook OS 2.0, & with no plans official 4Sq app on the horizon, this application is a must have for anyone who checks-in often.

HootSuite for BlackBerry is now available to download for free in BlackBerry App World! This application will manage up to four social apps at once (Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook and LinkedIn). HootSuite is compatible with devices running OS 5.0 and higher. Download it today and let us know what you think of HootSuite in the comments below!

Remember those free apps that RIM posted on App World? Well as a reminder, if you haven’t downloaded and installed these complimentary apps from RIM, do it now as after December 31, 2011, these applications will return to regular price. Most of these apps work for most devices, although some don’t have OS 7 support yet unfortunately. Check the links to App World for all these apps below: